It was with a sense of great pleasure and involvement that I accepted the invitation to open the first issue of Il Mondo degli Archivi in its new format and present it to the public. This affords me the opportunity not only to present an excellent contribution to the culture of our sector but also to reflect on the short but unquestionably significant period since my appointment as head of General Directorate of Archives in August 2004, recalling the salient stages and outlining the policies I intend to pursue in the near future. It will thus be necessary to provide some background information enabling readers, and especially the uninitiated, to understand the structural coordinates within which the Directorate is operating in this particular period of transition in not only institutional but also cultural, technological and organizational terms.

The archival sector as a whole currently appears to be undergoing a complex process of transformation, the most evident aspects of which can be summarized as a search for new management strategies – in an unprecedented, if not unequal, confrontation with market-based thinking – and the identification of tools and languages of communication involving both the use of ICT and the adoption of new methodological principles and an appropriate scientific and scholarly approach.

The archives are also called upon with ever-increasing urgency to undertake initiatives of cultural promotion and dissemination inspired by political efforts to stimulate the need for cultural consumption as much as possible. While serving to bring the average citizen into closer contact with the cultural items held in museums, these strategies are hardly suitable for the heritage preserved in archives. The latter have, however, been involved for some time now in the difficult task of balancing the requirements of specialized researchers, who are making less and less use of reading room facilities, and those of a less specialized but increasingly large group of new users.   The increased awareness of the value of our historical memory and therefore of the cultural importance of archives – especially at a time when the relentless process of globalization is accentuating the risk of cultural standardization – and a focus on the concepts of “promotion”, “use”, “public enjoyment” and indeed profitability, as laid down in the Code of Cultural and Environmental Heritage, make it necessary to address a broad and not necessarily specialized public including the community as a whole. Alongside their traditional function as institutions serving a specialized public, archives are indeed now called upon to act as centres capable of putting forward cultural proposals and providing a point of reference for studies and research. They will accordingly need to obtain greater visibility and operative capacity as bodies that not only perform their more traditional institutional tasks but also offer services extending above and beyond consultation facilities, pursuing concrete objectives that combine scientific and scholarly rigor with user friendliness and are also connected with profitability. Like the rest of the heritage sector, the archives are in fact now also required to “produce wealth”, at least in terms of public.

It is within these coordinates that I intend to frame the policies of the General Directorate of Archives, emphasizing the strength of the relationship that must obtain between policies for the preservation of the national memory and an improved response to the cultural demands broadly expressed by society.

These considerations and requirements necessarily prompt me as a representative of the archives administration as a whole to broaden the horizons so as to include the complex events of the last few months, which have made it necessary to reposition the entire sector in line with and in response to changes not only in the government machinery but also in society.

At the time of my appointment in August 2004, I wrote a letter to the archives stating just how delighted and honoured I was to have been entrusted such an important position. I also pointed out, however, my full awareness of the associated responsibilities and difficulties, especially in the period of serious and widespread economic crisis then obtaining and still underway.

Within these coordinates, as I said then and repeat today, it is not only an unquestionable challenge but also definite hope involved in representing the archives administration at a time when growing awareness of the importance of the historical memory and a broad demand for cultural services necessitate a response to the requirements of the territorial areas in which each archives is rooted and the citizens living there.

Within – and indeed despite – these coordinates, I consider it an indispensable priority and objective to respond to the requirements, now more deeply rooted than ever before, of the “promotion”, “use”, “public enjoyment” and “profitability” of the archival heritage.

I have spoken about confidence. It is the figures for 2005 – regarding the objectives accorded priority within the framework of our policies of cultural promotion, pursued not least through the organization of events, exhibitions, conferences and initiatives – that afford a glimpse of growth in our sector, despite everything. And here I shall confine myself to mentioning an event that involved the sector as a whole, namely the 7th Week of Culture, during which no fewer than 100 events were held on different themes with no increase in expenditure: 20 archives organized exhibitions and conferences on architecture, 35 on art, 3 on the history of drama, 10 on local history, and 7 on subjects of an primarily archival character, while 18 organized guided tours, 4 seminars on institutional history, and 3 concerts and stage performances.

I have also spoken about challenges. In this period of radical cuts in funding and drastic shortages of personnel, it is indeed a challenge to go on pursuing the present policy – which involves the launching of the National Archival System and the Central Institute for Archives, the functional renovation of the majority of Italian archives, publications in line with the great tradition of our sector – and even to cope with running costs and the expenses of the missions that make up a large part of our institutional activity.

Taking advantage of this powerful means of communication, I shall close by expressing the hope that it will be possible to involve all those operating in our sector in addressing this challenge and these objectives. Trusting to an improvement in the economic situation and certain of the commitment, the professionalism and the uncommon team spirit that have always been the hallmarks of the archival sector, I am sure that each and every one of us will work with the customary tenacity, despite everything, in order to meet the demands of the new institutional, economic and financial conditions.